European open water championships, gold medal for Gregorio Paltrinieri
The second day of the European open water swimming championships in Stari Grad on the Croatian island of Hvar is colored blue. After Givera Taddeucci’s victory in the 5-kilometer race comes in the afternoon the d’author’s stamp in the same race of multi-time Olympic and world champion Gregorio Paltrinieri, who breaks the odds with one kilometer to go and wins solo in 52’05″79. After yesterday’s fourth place in the ten-kilometer event, the 30-year-old Carpi hero of Fiamme Oro and Coopernuoto, who trains at the Ostia Federal Center with Fabrizio Antonelli, returns to international success after almost a year. Behind them is the Magyar pair with David Bethlem, Olympic bronze medalist and defending champion, who touches second in 52’08″07 and Olympic champion and yesterday’s gold medalist in the double distance Kristof Rasovzsky, who this time climbs to third in 52’13″57.
“Today was a good race and I am very happy with the way it went – tells SuperGreg – I managed in the first three laps, trying not to struggle too much. In the fourth lap I made a breakaway that allowed me to skim a little bit ’ the group. Then I accelerated with seven hundred meters to go and it went very well. Too bad about the 10 km because I had prepared it in the best way but evidently something went wrong. It can happen in these races and when the level is so high”.
Lower back the other Azzurri with Marcello Guidi, reigning continental bronze medalist, finishing seventh 52’25″00 and Dario Verani, tenth in 53’23″98.
After silver in the 10 km, Ginevra Taddeucci won the gold medal in the 5 km with a time of 59’51″95. The 27-year-old Florentine Olympic bronze medalist – carded for Fiamme Oro and AC Group Canottieri Napoli and coached by Giovanni Pistelli – ran a race as a true protagonist, maintaining the leadership from the first strokes and resisting until the last strokes to the attacks of Hungary’s Viktoria Mihalyvari, yesterday gold in the double distance, who closed in 59’53″94 with a gap of 1″99. Completing the podium was Spain’s Maria De Valdes Alvarez, third in 59’55″03.
Ginevra Taddeucci increasingly consolidates her status among the greats of cross-country: “I am very happy for my first European title – declares the Italian Olympic bronze medalist in Paris – It was a very hard race after the exertions of the 10 km on the opening day. I was looking for the wake, but there was confusion in the back. I thought I would start earlier, but I had limited resources so in the last 800 meters I tried to push as hard as I could. I believed in it until the end and it went well”.
Sixth position for Giulia Gabbrielleschi. The 28-year-old from Pistoia– a member of Fiamme Oro and Nuotatori Pistoiesi and trained by Massimiliano Lombardi– finished with a time of 59’57″26 after being fourth in the first two laps. Ninth was Barbara Pozzobon in 59’59″05. After an uphill start, the 31-year-old from Treviso – carded for Fiamme Oro and Hydros and followed by Fabrizio Antonelli – climbed positions over the course of the race: thirteenth at the first survey, tenth at the end of the second lap and then ninth at the final touch.
Friday, May 30, is continued with the men’s (10:00 a.m.) and women’s (3:00 p.m.) 3-kilometer knockout. The race will feature three levels of challenges with quarterfinals on the 1,500 meters, semifinals on the 1,000 meters knockout, and finals on the 500 meters with the top ten playing for the podium. Among the girls still competing are Taddeucci, Gabbrielleschi and deb Cesarano; among the menu still SuperGreg, and deb Marchello and Diodato.
